Buying a Camera, help me deside

I went to Staples yesterday and they said that the Canon Digital rebel is the best bet because the interchangeable lenses are the same as the old 35mm lenses where as the Nikon digital interchangable lenses reguire a new flat lens.

thay also said that the rebel is 8 megapixels which is 35mm quality, while the nikon digital is only 6 megapixels.

 

all that is incorrect.

 

I went to Staples and the nobody shit about cameras


(it was the new one up on Harris)

 

Yes, the digital rebel is a great camera. So is the Nikon D70 and even the D50. I think Nikon's construction quality and durability far surpasses that of Canon cameras. I think spending more for 2 more megapixels is a waste. You won't see a difference unless you are constantly printing 16x20 or larger.

As far as the backwards compatibility of lenses and accessories... It all depends on how much money you want to spend. Keep in mind, quality comes with a price. The Nikon G lenses were made for the digital slr cameras. They are not backwards compatible with older Nikon cameras. BUT, you can buy Nikon D lenses which will work with ALL Nikon slrs. This is what I did because I use both older all-manual camera bodies and also newer digital bodies with all the same lenses.

Older canon lenses are not compatible with newer canon slr bodies. By which I refer to the all-manual metal slr canon cameras.

IMPO, I would go with Nikon D50 with a G lens to start out. You will have lots of room for upgrading and the customer service is unsurpassed.

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The above commentary came from a professional Nikon user. In most cases a preference between Nikon and Canon is like Coke to Pepsi, or Honda to Toyota. It's all personal preference when it all comes down to it.

Hold a camera, try it and see the actual results of shooting it. You can not judge a camera online, especially the picture quality. A camera might look neat online or in the store, but until you actually hold it and try it, you will not know if it is a good fit for you.

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Here is a pic I shot a few days ago with my Nikon D100, using a 24-120D lens at f/8 1/30sec, along with a SB-28 speedlight and Lumiquest Big Bounce light difuser.

 

well I'm glad i posted then and got the right info.

Let me ask you this then, is there a digital camera out there for under $300 that takes the picture instantly without a delay from the time you push the button to when the camera actually takes the picture?

 

no.

 

let me know if you'd be up for moving. i may need a new photog this fall...

 

I like the Cannon Rebel also - but it is big, heavy and bulky as compared to the smaller digital camera. The advantage is the combatibility with Cannon and made for Cannon auto focus lenses.

I would try to buy a body only and then buy lenses. I'd look for two lenses (not Canon) one that is 28mm or less up to about 80mm for landscape and people and a 100mm-300mm zoom for bringing distant shots up close. I would get the longer lense as bright as you can afford. Remember that the digital format means the lens are 1.6 times the focal length of the lens. Thus, a 28mm standard lens is really a 44mm lens on a digital camera - not really good for landscapes. Perhaps buying the Reble digital bundled with the digital lens is a better bet because you are getting a true 18mm-50mm lens.

I would note that you are going to pay another $70 for a second battery and $80 - $170 for a 3G-6G card.

 

One major advantage of buying a camera with more megapixels is the crop factor created by the smaller imaging chips. With my Nikon D100, my 24mm D lens is actually a 36mm lens. The smaller imaging chip records less of what the wide angle lens actually covers. This is extremely beneficial for shooting distant subjects. My 300mm D lens turns into a 450mm lens.

See example below.

Nikon's G lenses, which again are made for the digital slrs, actually capture images at the indicated focal length since Nikon compensated for the crop factor when making the G lenses.

 

Photo Guy help me out here. My wife hardheaded as she is is against the Rebel because she heard some talking head at some Photography message board say for moving subjects the Rebel isn't the best bet. Siting you'd have to mess with the aperture yada yada. We both want a camera that is a little more substantial in size so it is easier to control and not subject to our hand movement. I am going to get a single post trip pod to keep it from shaking. Of the cameras mentioned above which do you like? Which would be best suited to sit in stands and take pictures of people in motion. Daughter is in marching band and we would be a good distance from her. Would the point and shoot cameras give us good quality or would the Rebel be a better fit?